San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1887-04-07
The Water Question In Various Points
OF yIew---Important and Inter-
esting Suggestions.


estiag Suggestions.
EDIrox PRKE PREss;-work has about
suspended until min comes. Farmers look
In every direction for hopeful cloud. Stock
water in many places has become serious
matter. Many have to haul water for do
nestle use. Water is needed in these parts
worse than whisky-yes, even worse than
politics We do not mean to jest about the
matter; We want water and no whisky. As
the Legislature has granted US the privilege
of voting for water, We hope the eoplewili
get 80 interested in the water side Of this
great moral issue that they will decide to
have nothing but water and plenty Of it.
As there Is nothing known Of artesian
wells, except from hypothetical reasoning,
yet we know that such things do exist, and
the boring Of which is uncertain and i'm
practicable in many places, the expenses at
tached thereto being too heavy for one in
dividual to make as an experiment. and as
the wealth of county or State is dependent
upon the prosperity and accumulation of
wealth by the people, would il be unwise
or impolitic for a county or State to make
appropriations for experiment If such
action be not unwise, and should prove sue
cessful, would II not lend renewed energy
and enterprise to our people9 Would not
our Western Texas, which is 30 subject to
drought, be made prosperous and happy by
the presence of over flowing wells?
II we cannot obtain water from the earth
we must go to the heavens for it. We be-
lieve we have seen 1t stated in the press
somewhere that some man, whose name we
cannot recall, was about to invent rain
machine or rain gun. Conceiving the idea
that the Gulf clouds that blow over the
greater portion Of Texas are too much rari-
fied, and only need condensation to form
rain, the clouds being within reach of ON
ordinary cannon, thus throwing a cartridge
filed with explosives having attached to it
a fuze, and bursting right among the clouds,
causing conclusion, which would bring about
condensation and rain. As foolish as this
may seem, yet it is very probable. There
are facts connected with the history of wars
that would seem to substantiate this philos-
ophy. 1t is said soon after the battle of
Waterloo a superabundance of rain fell.
We have heard soldiers speak of heavy rains
after hard battles were fought Again, we
notice soon after hard clap of thunder the
rain pours. Some believe and tteorize that
vegetation, trees, rivers, railroads, cultiva-
ted ground, all have a tendency to produce
rain foil. Doubtless these assist in robbing
the winds of their moisture. and condensing
it into dew and rain. Geographers tell US
that on the western slope of the Andes the
rainfall is entirely excluded. The prevail
ing winds coming from the Atlantic are
robbed of their moisture as they pass over
the mountains, thus producing abundant
rainfall ON the eastern slope.
We live in fast AEGEAN age of inven-
TONS The telegraph, the locomotive, the
and telephone are of recent date.
The lightnings, as it were, snatched from
the clouds by man and made to obey his
will, transmitting messages almost as quick
as thought the locomotive speeding across
the continent in hot haste, the steamboat
gliding across the billowy waves from shore
to shore. the telephone echoing accents
clear and audible from town to town, thou
sand and one peices of machinery made for
his convenience, all echoing and bespeaking
the wonderful ingenuity of man. j. I, d.
1.-THE concluding sentence of our cores
pondent's interesting article seems to us in
complete, and we think he might have fair
ly added, that in view of the wonderful pro-
gress in inventions to which he refers, it is
by no means impossible or unlikely that
man may, in some way, yet obtain such con-
troll over the elements as to produce rain at
will. At my rate he can certainly find a
substitute for it to large extent by irriga-
ton from streams and artesian wells, and
this is subject which should obviously be
considered and acted upon in Western
Texas. ED.